Shane MacGowan, the frontman for Irish punk band The Pogues, has died. He was 65 years old.
His wife, Victoria Mary Clarke, announced his death Thursday morning. No official cause of death was provided, but MacGowan had recently left a hospital in Dublin, Ireland, after a diagnosis of encephalitis.
"It is with the deepest sorrow and heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of Shane MacGowan," his family said in a statement. "Shane died peacefully at 3am this morning (30 November, 2023) with his wife Victoria and family by his side."
Shane MacGowan was an Irish kid who grew up in England, and the songs he wrote and sang were a furious fusion of folk and punk.
His band, The Pogues, was once described as a barroom brawl with instruments. MacGowan was its combustible champion. His drinking and drugging would destroy his body, but McGowan led the Pogues to international renown, and left the world with one of the darkest and most moving Christmas songs ever written, "Fairytale of New York."
This is a breaking story and will be updated as details are released
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